United States
Americas
Advocacy for United States
What’s Happening?
The second Trump administration is undermining the refugee resettlement and asylum systems codified in U.S. law in 1980 and has eliminated U.S.humanitarian assistance for refugees abroad that has existed since the 1960s. The Trump administration has not only stranded refugees abroad, it has also stripped access to protection and protected statuses from millions of people in the United States, and massively increased detention and deportation regardless of the risk of harm. Through international pressure and transactional diplomacy, it is also trying to cripple refugee protection globally and the human rights of migrants in other countries.
What Must Be Done?
The U.S. Congress and the federal courts must ensure that the United States abides by its own legal obligations as well as its international legal obligations with respect to refugees and asylum seekers. Both the U.S. Refugee Resettlement Program and U.S. aid must be restored because they are lifesaving and crucial to global stability and U.S. interests.
Latest Reports and Briefs
Protection, Not Concession: Mexico’s Responsibility to Third Country Nationals Deported by the United States
February 27, 2026
A Generational Collapse: Tracking the Toll of Trump’s Humanitarian Aid Cuts
February 5, 2026
“This is an Order from Trump:” Abuse, Expulsions, and Refoulement of People Seeking Asylum
May 8, 2025
Latest Statements and News
Refugees International Concerned by U.S.–Costa Rica Third Country National Deportation Deal
April 14, 2026
U.S./Israel–Iran War on Course for Cataclysmic Civilian Harm, Displacement, and Humanitarian Need
March 11, 2026
Death of Rohingya Refugee After Abandonment by CBP Requires Investigation
February 27, 2026
Latest Opinions, Q&As, and Explainers
Latest Advocacy Letters
More than 200 Organizations and Experts Call for an End to Trump’s Threats of War Crimes and Call for Accountability
April 7, 2026
500+ Civil and Human Rights Organizations Urge Congress to Rein in ICE, Reject Increased Funding
January 14, 2026
Urging the Governments of Costa Rica and Panama to Address Injustices Relating to U.S. Return Scheme
March 27, 2025
Latest Events and Testimonies
Launch Event: Banished by Bargain—Third Country Deportation Watch
November 21, 2025
AHA Briefing on Historical Perspectives on Deportation Policies and Practices
March 13, 2025
Refugees International President Jeremy Konyndyk Speaks at a Senate Roundtable on the Implications of Halting U.S. Foreign Assistance
February 12, 2025
Latest Perspectives and Commentaries
Featured Image: A Guatemalan father and daughter who are seeking asylum rest in a shelter on May 15, 2019 in El Paso, Texas. © Mario Tama/Getty Images
Take Action
Tell the White House: Keep Our Promise to Refugees
The White House is targeting refugees who were promised safety in the United States. Tell the White House to immediately end these unlawful attacks on refugees and keep our promise.
